VANCOUVER – The Canada West Playoffs are officially upon us, and for the first time ever, the UBC Thunderbirds and UBC Okanagan Heat will clash in the postseason. Friday afternoon at 4:00 pm in Saskatoon, the 'Birds and Heat square off in the 8-9 Play-In game. The winner will then battle the top-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday.
 
Erin McAleenan's UBC Thunderbirds (11-9) finished eighth in the regular season standings, and are entering the playoffs on a winning note after a 64-62 road victory last Saturday in Victoria. Meanwhile the Heat (10-10) have been idle since February 4^th and are entering the playoffs having won three of their final five games. Despite finishing 11^th in the overall standings, UBCO's RPI was higher than Mount Royal's, which bumped them into the ninth overall spot in the standings.


 
The 'Birds path to the playoffs has been challenging since the later portion of January. Erin McAleenan's crew has had to navigate injuries, inexperience and a challenging schedule, but are a better, more united team because of it. Saturday in Victoria the blue and gold went into the final quarter trailing by four points, but some timely early three-pointers from Hailey Counsell and Emily Martindale evened the score. Later in the quarter, Sara Toneguzzi and Cerys Merton nailed key three-pointers of their own which helped stake UBC to a two-point lead. Then with the score tied 62-62 late, rookie Mona Berlitz nailed consecutive free throws with four seconds left, giving UBC their final penultimate lead.
 
"Saturday was a great example of our resilience," said Erin McAleenan. "We were focused on our gameplan from the jump. Big credit to Sara Toneguzzi (20 points) who came out firing on all cylinders at both ends of the floor. Her 15 first-half points really got us going. But even with Victoria's size advantage we did a good job at containing them. We've had other close games that went the other direction, so there was major growth for us to be able to head into playoffs on a high note."


 
UBC's glaring strength throughout the 2022-23 season was their defense which finished second in all of Canada West with 1190 points surrendered (59.5 average-per-game) – One point shy of the top ranked UFV Cascades for fewest points allowed. Conversely the Heat allowed an average of 73 points-per-game which ranked them 14^th among 17 teams. All season, Erin McAleenan has preached the importance of defensive details, knowing how vital they'll be during the playoffs.
 
"Our defense gives us a lot of confidence going into the playoffs. As long as we stay committed to our gameplan and communication we'll put ourselves in a good position to limit their opportunities," added McAleenan. "By playing great defense we also put ourselves in a position to capitalize off turnovers and get some easier looks and easier scores at the other end of the floor."

Neither UBC or UBCO had a top-10 scorer in their lineup this season, but both teams will rely on significant depth offensively. Third-year forward Jaeli Ibbetson led all Heat players with 16.1 points-per-game while first-year Spanish transfer Sofia Ainsa Lluch supplied 13.2 points-per-game. UBC was led by second-year guard Olivia Weekes who notched 15.1 points-per-game while Sara Toneguzzi added an average of 9.0. Olivia Weekes did not play in either of UBC's games against Victoria due to injury, but Erin McAleenan did confirm that she will be travelling with the team to Saskatchewan and will be a game-time decision.

?? WBB | @ubcwbb guard Sara Toneguzzi on a strong finish to the season with a big win in Victoria and starting the @CanadaWest playoffs Friday against the UBCO Heat in Saskatoon pic.twitter.com/Y6zxhxcUQq

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) February 16, 2023

During the 2022-23 regular season, the 'Birds and Heat split a pair of games held at UBC on January 27^th and 28^th. The first night went the way of the Heat as they earned a 70-53 victory on the strength of eight three-pointers. The next night UBC answered with a convincing 78-50 victory. Four 'Birds (Weekes, Counsell, Martindale and Berman) finished in double-figures offensively and they forced UBCO into 23 turnovers.
 
"It was a tail of two different teams, on two different nights, for both of us that weekend," remarked McAleenan. "They're a great offensive rebounding team. So we need to limit their second chance opportunities. We then need to trust that our defense is going to be able to give us an edge. As long as we play our best team basketball at both ends of the floor, we're going to give ourselves a great shot to win."
 
Friday afternoon's Play-In tilt between the UBC Thunderbirds and UBCO Heat tips off at 4:00 pm PT from Saskatoon. You can follow along via Canada West TV.